Tight security at hearing for man charged in Chesco dog killings

Gabriel Pilotti, center in blue, who is accused of shooting and killing two dogs in West Vincent in February, waived his preliminary hearing Wednesday, March 27, 2013 at Judge James DiAngelo’s court in South Coventry. About a dozen police officers and sheriffs deputies were on hand after unspecified threats were made against Pilotti. (Journal Register Photo/Tom Kelly IV)

SOUTH COVENTRY — A 72-year-old man who shot and killed a neighbor’s two family dogs in February appeared in district court Wednesday as about 15 police officers stood guard outside.

Gabriel Pilotti, of the Chester Springs section of West Vincent, waived a preliminary hearing on charges of animal cruelty and recklessly endangering another person stemming from an incident on Feb. 12. On that day, police said Pilotti shot and killed two Bernese Mountain Dogs who had escaped a nearby neighbor’s yard and wandered onto his property.

Pilotti, who appeared in court with his attorney Thomas H. Ramsay of West Chester, did not speak as District Judge James V. DeAngelo quickly moved through the procedures of waiving the preliminary hearing.

DeAngelo ruled that Pilotti will remain free on $10,000 unsecured bail on the condition that he maintains contact with the bail agency and has no contact with the owners of the slain dogs.

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About 15 law enforcement officers from various county and state agencies stood guard in and outside of the court in response to death threats that Pilotti received after the incident gained widespread media coverage.

Mary Bock, who owned the dogs with her husband and five children, also attended the procedure along with several friends and supporters.

“It’s the first step of many, we’re more anxious to get to the next step. This was just something we felt we had to do. I thought it was important to be here for the dogs and to show that we’re serious about this,” Bock said. “More than anything it’s about setting a precedent for the future so this doesn’t happen again. Maybe if something good comes out of this that will help with passing some new laws.”

State Sen. Andrew Dinniman, D-19th Dist., has already proposed two bills to modify existing state dog laws in response to the February shooting. Dinniman’s planned bills would amend the Pennsylvania Dog Law to better clarify the section that explains when a person is permitted to shoot a dog on their property. Dinniman’s bill would prohibit a person from shooting a dog if they are simply “pursuing” another animal. Instead the killing of dogs would be permitted only if the animal is demonstrating an “apparent intent to harm.”

Tom Hickey, a member state’s Dog Law Advisory Board, also attended Thursday’s proceeding with Bock. He said in addition to Dinniman’s bills, there are other efforts underway that would increase the penalty in similar incidents in the future.

“Unfortunately we’ve seen more and more of this in the last couple of years, especially in Chester County we’re seeing more incidents of animal abuse, and we have to make sure that keep in line with the times. Some of the laws protecting pets are outdated and need to be looked at,” Hickey said. “One of the things we’re looking for is to increase the penalties in these horrific situations to the felony level.”

The dogs, 1-year-old Fiona and 2-year-old Argus, were killed with a shotgun after they escaped from their fenced-in yard in the unit block of St. Anthony Lane. The Bock family, the dogs’ owners, said they got out of the yard through a hole in a fence caused by a falling tree limb. The family was not aware of the fence’s damaged section because it was not visible from the home, Mary Bock said.

Investigators originally determined the shooting was legal when Pilotti told police that the dogs were chasing his sheep. But as more details emerged, officials said it became clear that Pilotti’s original story was not accurate.

In a second interview Pilotti told police that he shot first at Argus while the dog was slowly trotting toward him. The dog was shot in the head and immediately fell dead to the ground. Pilotti then reloaded his shotgun and fired at the female dog, Fiona, while she was running away from him and the sheep, according to a criminal complaint filed by police.

Pilotti did not speak to the media outside of district court Thursday, but his attorney repeated earlier statements claiming that an apology had been sent to the Bock family through the Chester County District Attorney’s Office.

But Mary Bock said that she and her family have never received such an apology, other than what they saw through various media outlets. Bock explained Thursday that ten days passed before the Feb. 12 incident received media attention, but claimed Pilotti never reached out to her family.

“He had all that time to apologize, to reach out to us. For those first ten days he made no attempt to apologize or show remorse, nothing. I feel like at this point an apology would only be for the media and for himself, it wouldn’t be for us,” Bock said. “If he had handled this whole thing differently we probably wouldn’t be here. He missed the opportunity.”

Pilotti’s charges will now move on to the Chester County Court of Common Pleas.